Flat2VR Studios, a recently-formed game studio focused on bringing existing flatscreen games to VR, has released its first game, Trombone Champ: Unflattened!. A positive early reception bodes well for both the studio’s ability to deliver and its choice of which games to port in the first place.

Flat2VR Studios is a formalization of a group of dedicated modders who were making unofficial VR mods for flatscreen games. The studio announced earlier this year that it would release official VR conversions of four games.

The first of those projects, Trombone Champ: Unflattened!, has launched to overwhelmingly positive user reception on Quest, PC VR, and PSVR 2:

  • Quest: 4.9 out of 5 stars (251 ratings)
  • PC VR: 100% positive (43 ratings)
  • PSVR 2: 4.9 out of 5 stars (120 ratings)

While the ratings don’t suggest blockbuster sales numbers (not expected for this unique and quite niche game), it’s clear that the studio’s first official VR conversion has delivered something that people are enjoying.

That bodes well for the studio’s foundational premise: that certain existing flatscreen games can be adapted for VR to make them not just playable in a headset, but actually fun and fitting for the medium.

It also bodes well for the studio’s ability to pivot from unofficial projects to commercial work with partners, and its ability to make good choices about which games would fit well in VR. Trombone Champ, in particular, certainly seems like a game that was destined to be in VR in the first place—after all, there’s no more realistic way to mime the trombone than with motion controllers.

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Image courtesy Flat2VR Studios

While Trombone Champ looks to have been a fitting choice, the next three titles that have been announced from the studio are very different in subject matter and it remains to be seen how well they will port to VR. Those are: WRATH: Aeon of Ruin VR (a Quake-inspired shooter), Roboquest VR (a modern roguelite shooter), and Flatout VR (a demolition derby racing game). Release dates have yet to be announced.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Hussain X

    Well done Flat2VR Studios. Onwards and upwards.

  • VR5

    The game is indeed amazing. I initially decided to buy this mainly to support Raicuparta, for his previous mods, especially Neon White, which was my GotY 2022. But then I started to see the appeal of the game itself. And when I tried it last week it got me hooked pretty strongly. It shows how well the magic of this medium works when you feel the rush of playing a song well and hearing the crowd cheering for you.

    I also bought the flat original after the fact, both to compare and to play in local multiplayer, which really is the only thing the flat version does better. The VR controls aren't as immediately accessible but once you figur them out they're actually superior due to their precision. This really is a top notch adaptation which both removes elements that don't work well in VR but also adds a lot of new ones that don't just make up for the removals but improve it a hundred fold.

  • NotMikeD

    No one ever made a dollar betting against Flat-2-VR Studios! Keep pushing, we're all behind you!